Looking to buy a truck from someone, that the previous owner abandoned.

I ran a carfax/autocheck and it said it was last titled in CA in 2013. Carfax says the lien (rom 2009 purchace in CA) was released in 2013, auto check says it still has one. Other than that it is clean and the owner was military and long gone. The vehicle is currently in Alaska.

I checked CA DMV website, but it's pretty confusing.

What are my options on getting a title for it? Anyone run into a similar experience?

Thanks for any ideas.

If the registration paperwork is available, it will help show if there is a lien on it.
Finance company is listed on the registration until the loan is paid off, once the lien is satisfied, the registration will only show the owner's info.

Not sure about the rest. Does AK have a mechanics lien process?

Unfortunately there is no registration paperwork or plates on it. AK does have a mechanics lien process, may have to look into that, but without plates or knowing who the registered owner is might be tough.

Getting the lienholder off the registration requires paperwork from the lienholder.  It also requires the registered owner to re-register the car to remove the lien holder from DMV records.  Only then is the lienholder removed from the DMV registration paperwork.

Car is in Alaska.
Legal owner is unknown.
Lienholder is unknown.
Registration does not exist.


Walk away ASAP.

I'd try calling the California DMV and asking them directly. If you call them, tell them you are interested in buying such and such vehicle, and here is the Vin number, they will tell you all the info they legally can.

Ca DMV process to request a replacement/duplicate pink slip isn't hard.  There's a method outlined for out of state/military.  The problem is, the guy wanting to sell the truck doesn't have the information needed.  He could take the VIN to the Alaska DMV and get registration info, like if expired, reported stolen, etc.  They may even have a way to get the most recent registration ownership records - that info would be available for official business if tracking the vehicle if involved in a crime, etc.  Just that it's not always available easily to a private person.  Maybe insurance requirements might also lead to owner info?  I'd expect that in either state they'd need to get registration current before completing a transfer - certificate of non-operation or similar process.  If it were me, I'd want the seller to get the paperwork in order before considering buying it.  Doing it for him would seem likely to eat up any "great deal" savings on the vehicle.

Thanks guys, so I've got an update.

Called CA DMV (well a quick title/registration place anyways), guy was pretty helpful.

- I now have the previous owners full name, no address. He was a military guy, but I've tried to look him up in global and he's not active anymore, I've also searched Facebook without any luck.
- I have the CA plate number it was issued.
- There is no lien holder on the title and it has not been reported stolen in CA. Apparently it was never registered in AK when he moved up here (not required to though).

I'm going to look at a surety bond or mechanics lien here in AK to see if I'm able to get it registerd.

^This


Why are you still perusing this vehicle? Is it rare or unique?


If not, buy something local that does not have all the registration hassles. TRUST ME, I've gone through it, and it isn't worth it.

Walk away and get something else with a clean title.

Could just be an utterly screaming deal.
I took a chance on a non running $1,200 theft recovery truck that had no title and no keys (ignition was punched).
Truck would have sold for ~$6,000 at the time. It had some minor issues and the guy just wanted it out of his yard.

Took a bit of legwork and multiple trips to the DMV to get sorted out but in the end I got the truck with a clean title in my name. Probably one of the best purchases I ever made, truck was a reliable daily for over 15 years.

It is a pretty good deal. I know what they say, to good to be true, it probably is. Military guy PCS'd and left his vehicle, it was being used by a local bar a their trash truck (most places have to haul own trash to the dump up here) for at least 2 years (illegally since it's registration ran out of course). It only has 57k on it and it's in great shape, it's worth at least $5-6k up here in it's present condition. The guy who bought it from the bar was just going to use the motor and tranny since he didn't want to go through the hassle of getting the title.

The time that's lapsed since the original owner has left AK, finding out it hasn't been reported stolen and has no lien on it make this a potentially good deal. I do understand there still could be issues, but with the info I have, I feel pretty confident.